August 9, 2016

Bow Polish Magnetics Swatches & Review

Hi guys! Today I have the Bow Polish magnetic polishes to share with you! These are made by the same people who make Dance Legend, based on how much I have enjoyed Dance Legend over the last couple of years I was excited for these. Its been a quick minute since I used a magnetic polish so there was a bit of a learning curve, I actually still haven't figured out how to get consistent designs with these but they are pretty regardless. What I like most about these is how they look 3D when you move your hand around after doing the magnet. Check out the swatches after the jump!

For the sake of not saying it over and over the formula was pretty consistent across all 13. They were all on the thick side but easy to apply. The thickness gives good opacity and makes most of these a 1 coater, however I found that if you do the magnet with only one coat you end up with bald spots where the particles are pulled from...so 2 coats is best! The magnet is easy to use, but like I mentioned before I found it hard to get consistent designs. I also found that the design I did get didn't "stick" very well if that makes sense, it was like it spread out after a few seconds. I tried applying top coat immediately after doing the magnet and it didn't seem to do anything to help that. Not sure if thats how its supposed to be or if I'm just doing something wrong.

Bad News is a brown with a strong gold shimmer and bits of pink shimmer. I didn't find huge difference with this one after the magnet.

Closure is a swampy brown/green with gold, green and pink shimmer. This one also don't have a huge contrast once you do the magnet but I don't really care because I kinda love it on its own.

Divide & Conquer is a raspberry red with pink shimmer. The contrast is great with this one, in terms of the color it pulls with the magnet its one of my favorites in the collection.

Get Up is a bronze down with gold and pink shimmer. This is another that doesn't have a huge contrast after the magnet but I enjoy it either way!

Motivation is a blackened base with purple shimmer. I really like how the magnet pulls the shimmer in this one.

Paranoia is a teal green/blue with a golden shimmer. The contrast in this is really pretty and a bit stronger in person than my photos show.

Reboot is a berry purple with silvery pink shimmer. The contrast was really nice with this one, I think it'll look great once I figure out how to use the magnet a bit better though!

Revel is a reddish brown with gold and pink shimmer. The contrast in this one is very subtle.

Ritual is a green leaning teal with a silver shimmer. This is another that I like the contrast on but I think it'll really come alive once I figure out the magnet a bit better.

Sirens is a blackened blue base with bright blue shimmer. The is another favorite, the shimmer against the base is really stunning!

Smile In Your Sleep is a deep blue base with blue shimmer. This is similar to the last polish but not quite as vibrant.

Surrender is a black base with grey shimmer. Another favorite here, the contrast is huge...it reminds me a lot of smoke.

Your Idol is a dark brown with a light brown shimmer. I decided to leave this one without top coat so you guys can see the finish without it. These dry down a bit satin matte.

The Bow Polish Magnetics are available at Color4Nails.com, each polish retails for $10.00 and the magnet which is separate is $5. As always you can use the code PoilshAh10 to save 10%!

For the magnetics, I found it helpful to use a good, strong refrigerator type magnet instead of what they give you. Hold it against the closed bottle to see what design you'll get, and then make sure you hold it as close as you can to your wet nail for at least 10 seconds. It's nerve-wracking, but you get SUCH good effects from it!

someone told me recently that their technique for making the designs really pop in magnetics is to paint all 10 fingers with one thin layer and let it dry pretty completely (wait maybe 5 minutes). then paint one nail and immediately top coat it with a quick-dry, holding the magnet over it for a good 20-30 seconds while the quick dry sets. if you top coat AFTER you've done the magnet, the topcoat re-wets the polish underneath, which lets the magnetic particles sink back into the polish a little, and makes your design softer and not as sharp.

the magnet DL/Bow sells separately is a flat bar shape, with the goal to create a "cats eye" gemstone look. this is more subtle than the patterned ones (loooove the snake print!), but it's really pretty in the right lighting.

i just tried out one of the DL magnetics using this technique and it worked great! magnet over the 2nd coat, wait a bit to dry, then magnet over the topcoat = MUCH clearer magnet stripes than i've ever gotten before!